"Xue Zhi Qiao." Xue Zhi Qiao said with a dark face. Given his fame, shouldn't younger girls recognize him? Especially this girl who had pretended to be his fan last time. How could she forget him again?
"Xue Zhi Qiao?" Xin Jia Er frowned, unable to recall.
"Su Ding's friend," Xue Zhi Qiao continued to remind her.
Xin Jia Er said "Oh," and then asked, "How did I end up in your car? What do you want?"
"I'm your savior. Who am I? Hmph," Xue Zhi Qiao replied irritably.
Xin Jia Er froze for a few seconds, then finally remembered. Today, after leaving her father's company, she was stopped and pestered by that scumbag Xu Lang. She had cursed him out, and he had apologized to her tearfully...
Finally, when Xu Lang tried to force her to leave with him, she started to get scared.
However, the passersby were all pointing and gossiping, and no one came to help. Fortunately, two men passing by pulled Xu Lang away...
Then, as she was crying, her head felt dizzy, and when she woke up, she was here?
She quickly reached for her phone but found it missing from her pocket. "My, where's my phone?"
Xue Zhi Qiao, from somewhere, produced a phone with a broken screen and tossed it over. "You threw your phone at that scumbag and smashed it. It won't turn on."
Xin Jia Er looked at her phone, which was smashed to pieces, and felt heartbroken.
This was...
No, she would throw away everything that belonged to that scumbag!
She wiped away her tears and, as if explaining to Xue Zhi Qiao or talking to herself, said, "Starting today, I won't keep anything of his anymore! I'll copy the data from this phone and then throw it away!"
Xue Zhi Qiao showed no reaction, just saying "Oh."
Xin Jia Er took a deep breath and then said, "Stop the car!"
"What do you want to do?" Xue Zhi Qiao's brows furrowed.
"Will you accompany me for a drink? I've really decided to give up. I won't have anything to do with that scumbag anymore. Sob sob... I still feel so bad... Every time I think about the past, I..."
Xin Jia Er was crying, tears and snot streaming down her face. Her face was flushed, her hair stuck to it, and she looked utterly dishevelled.
Xue Zhi Qiao pressed his forehead. He had never met such a noisy woman before!
"Are you sure you're in the right state to go to a bar?"
Xin Jia Er's tear-filled eyes sparkled as her red lips parted. "Yes, people who are heartbroken should drown their sorrows in alcohol..."
"Only to deepen their sorrow," Xue Zhi Qiao finished her sentence irritably.
"Wuwuwu..." Xin Jia Er couldn't help but cover her face and cry again, throwing a tantrum. "Stop the car! Stop the car! As a big star, you wouldn't commit the illegal act of restricting someone's personal freedom, would you!"
Xue Zhi Qiao sighed in exasperation. "I'll take you home first, and then you can go wherever you want."
What if something happened to this girl at the bar? How would he explain it to Su Ding?
Xin Jia Er glared at him with red eyes. "No, let me out of the car. I don't want to go home. I feel awful at home, and if I go back, I'll overthink everything..."
Xue Zhi Qiao's temper flared up. "Fine, stop the car!"
Go wherever she wants. He had tried to be reasonable and moral enough. If anything happens, don't blame him!
The driver stopped the car by the roadside. Xin Jia Er pulled the door open and got out. As she closed the door, she awkwardly thought about thanking him. "Um..."
"Don't let me delay your drinking time. Go ahead," Xue Zhi Qiao said indifferently.
"..." Xin Jia Er felt a sense of suppressed annoyance and exasperation, as if she were being lectured. She slammed the car door in anger and left.
She was about to call for a ride-hailing service when she remembered her phone was broken. Forget about calling for a car, she wouldn't even have money to pay at a bar. What should she do now?
Xin Jia Er turned around and was about to call out to Xue Zhi Qiao's car. "Hey—"
Xue Zhi Qiao's car sped away, leaving her alone.
Xin Jia Er felt wronged and was about to cry again.
Fine, she refused to believe she couldn't get there. She immediately started walking towards the bar...
...
After putting down her phone, Su Ding held her daughter and read her a bedtime story.
Su Xiao Rui soon fell asleep in her mother's arms, her little face rosy, like a cute, round little apple.
"So good," Su Ding said softly.
She remembered the call from Shao Lin during the day. After hesitating, just as she was about to call back, she saw a WeChat friend request. The sender's name was Shao Lin.
She immediately felt a sense of foreboding. But remembering Shao Lin's threats, she still approved the request.
Soon, a video was sent from the other side.
It was a piece of surveillance footage.
Inside, it was Su Ding entering that room five years ago, emerging bruised and battered, and having a heated argument with Shao Lin.
Su Ding's heart felt as if it were submerged in ice water, a bone-chilling coldness making her tremble.
This was her most unbearable past.
The phone buzzed a few times. Shao Lin sent a WeChat message:
"What do you think will happen if I send this video to Mr. Jin?"
"If Mr. Jin knew how disgraceful you were back then, if he knew how your illegitimate daughter was conceived, would he still love you?"
"If I report this to the media, do you know how much loss it would cause Jin Ye? The President's wife of Huangqi Group, who used to be a prostitute?"
"At that time, would Xiao Xi still recognize you as her mother?"
"Su Ding, you'll be completely ruined, utterly disgraced. Even Jin Ye won't be able to help you. Think about it carefully!"
...
Each chilling sentence echoed in Su Ding's ears like a curse.
She knew in her heart that Shao Lin was not making empty threats. All of this was extremely likely to happen.
With one wrong step, she would fall into an abyss from which there was no return.
Su Ding looked at her sleeping daughter and touched the unborn fetus in her belly. She felt even more desperate and helpless. It was all the path she had chosen back then!
Her nose stinged, and tears welled up in her eyes. What should she do?
Just then, Shao Lin's call came again, startling Su Xiao Rui in her arms, who covered her ears and rolled into the covers.
Su Ding quickly picked up the phone and walked to the balcony to answer.
"Shao Lin! What exactly do you want!" Su Ding hissed in a low voice.
"I want you to listen to me and meet with President Wang. It's not that I want to make things difficult for you, but President Wang wants to see you, and I can't help it," Shao Lin said hypocritically.
"Why would that President Wang want to see me for no reason? It's all your doing, Shao Lin. If you want money, I'll give it to you. Please stop pestering me, okay?" This was the first time Su Ding had shown weakness to Shao Lin.
She was no longer alone as before; she had people to care about.
Especially that video. It would not only ruin her and her two children but also her hard-won love, and deal a heavy blow to Jin Ye's career.
She could not accept any of these consequences!
"Money? Hahaha, Su Ding, do you think I'm short of money? What a joke!" Shao Lin's sharp voice pierced through the phone. "President Wang wants to see you tomorrow night. I'll send you the address. If you don't come, you know the consequences!"
After speaking, Shao Lin hung up the phone and quickly sent the location.
Jinxin Hotel, Room 401.
Su Ding stared at the address, her palms suddenly sweating profusely. A myriad of thoughts flashed through her mind, but she couldn't grasp any of them.
"Still not asleep?" Jin Ye pushed the door open.
Su Ding snapped back to reality. Seeing Su Xiao Rui sprawled asleep, she said, "Why don't you sleep in the next room tonight?"
Jin Ye chuckled softly, walked over, pinched Su Xiao Rui's rosy cheek, then went around to Su Ding and embraced her.
He lowered his head and kissed her forehead, saying gently, "What's wrong? You're unhappy?"
The suppressed heartache in Su Ding's chest almost broke. A man like this made her even more reluctant to hurt him. She didn't want to reveal her past disgrace in front of him.
She remained silent, leaning quietly against Jin Ye's chest, feeling the security he provided.